Better enforcement of COPPA

[Brian Cruz]

I have COPPA enabled on my forum, set so that no one under 13 can register at all. So if you were to register with a birthdate of say 1995, the forum would tell you that you're too young to register. That part is fine. Unfortunately, you can easily hit the "back" button and change your birthdate to something older, and then proceed with registration normally. Is it possible to leave a cookie behind so that when someone enters a birthdate that makers them under 13, it will prevent them from registering at all? I know a kid could still get around this by deleting their cookies, but it would still require more work than they have to do now. Thanks.

[Smiry Kin's]

Originally Posted by Brian Cruz

I have COPPA enabled on my forum, set so that no one under 13 can register at all. So if you were to register with a birthdate of say 1995, the forum would tell you that you're too young to register. That part is fine. Unfortunately, you can easily hit the "back" button and change your birthdate to something older, and then proceed with registration normally. Is it possible to leave a cookie behind so that when someone enters a birthdate that makers them under 13, it will prevent them from registering at all? I know a kid could still get around this by deleting their cookies, but it would still require more work than they have to do now. Thanks.

Maybe allowed 13 year olds to sign up.. but have a kind of DOB limit to forums.. e.g only 1995+ can view some forums etc etc... would make it more user friendly, and more popular.

[djtheropy]

heres something i use on my forum.

find the phrase under_thirteen_registration_denied and change it to something like

Sorry, we are unable to register you at this time, please try again later. If the problem persist please contact the <a href="http://www.mysite.com/sendmessage.php">webmaster</a>.
<br /><br />
If you want a reply please give your email address.

[MattD]

We really need to get a cookie like this implemented on our forums. I posted in one of the other forums about this, yet have not received a response over the past week.

Anyone have any idea how to get this implemented?

[Freesteyelz]

The COPPA registration system is somewhat flawed. Just by asking the age of the person registering can be in violation IF he/she is under the age of 13. The key wording is "individually identifiable information" which in fact pertains to age.

[MattD]

Well, my message on the site is perfectly acceptable. The only problem is that no cookie drops after they enter their age. They simply can hit back, and then re-enter the age.

I need to make it so that they at least have to clear their cookies in their browser before being able to re-enter their age.

Anyone able to help with this?